B&M: Festive season of bargain shopping helps ‘undistracted’ value retailer January 9, 2025 Value retailer B&M Bargains reported strong revenue growth throughout the golden quarter as consumers sought out low-discount options to meet their festive shopping needs. However, the caution imposed by a challenging environment ahead for the retail sector due to tax hikes and employment costs caused B&M shares to fall by 8.5 per cent today. In [...]
Mamas & Papas: Nursery brand reveals latest expansion amid record sales January 8, 2025 The festive season provided yet another boost in sales for high street nursery brand Mamas & Papas following a bumper year of trade thanks to the success of its deals with M&S and Next. The Huddersfield-headquartered firm today reported record sales during this year’s Golden Quarter, especially within its UK and overseas markets. It said [...]
Seasalt: Cornish clothing brand bucks retail gloom over festive season January 7, 2025 Cornish retailer Seasalt has defied the despondent British high street and reported a significant uptick in sales over the Christmas season despite significant cost pressures. Total sales across online, stores, and marketplace partners like M&S increased by 10 per cent compared to last year in the last five weeks of the year, with every channel [...]
Grocery spending hit record high at Christmas as Brits favour food over gifts January 7, 2025 Grocery spending hit a record high this Christmas as Brits dined out on premium goods and fizz, in a marked contrast to the anaemic growth in retail spending. Overall take-home sales at the grocers rose by 2.1 per cent over the four weeks to 29 December compared with last year. Brits splashed out on premium [...]
Next: FTSE 100 retailer hikes profit guidance but warns on costs January 7, 2025 Retail industry bellwether Next has upgraded its profit outlook for the year after sales and growth exceeded expectations during the Golden Quarter. The FTSE 100 company hiked its expected profit by five per cent as sales jumped six per cent in the nine weeks to 28 December, nearly double its previous guidance of 3.5 per cent. [...]
Not-so-golden quarter: Retail footfall slumps in another disappointing year January 3, 2025 A dull December marked the end of yet another “disappointing” year for UK retail footfall as fresh data has revealed 2024 was the second year in a row to see a decline. According to recent Sensormatic data by the British Retail Consortium, UK footfall fell by 2.5 per cent year-on-year during the three months to December, [...]
UK retail sales rise slightly in November amid concern over golden quarter December 20, 2024 The latest ONS data showed retail sales jumped 0.2 per cent last month, following a 0.7 per cent fall in October.
M&S set to buck retail trend and see a bumper golden quarter November 6, 2024 After reporting a set of results far ahead of analysts’ expectations for the third quarter, Marks and Spencer is set for a bumper Christmas period as its turnaround continues to bear fruit. Its food division is particularly well-placed to deliver, with sales already up more than seven per cent in the third quarter. M&S’ food [...]
Retail sales growth slumps in October as consumers remain cautious November 5, 2024 Retail sales growth dipped in October due to pre-election anxiety, the latest figures have shown. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-KPMG sales monitor, retail sales in the UK increased by 0.6 per cent year over year in October, compared to 2.6 per cent growth in October 2023. Food sales nudged up 2.9 per cent [...]
Retailers prepare for ‘exceptionally tough’ golden quarter after Budget November 4, 2024 The golden quarter is off to a slow start and things are only set to get tougher for retailers over Christmas, according to fresh data. In-store sales grew by 1.7 per cent year on year in October, while total sales – both in-store and online – grew 4.1 per cent, according to BDO. Whilst the [...]